5328 Chene Street
Edward Nairin’s Store, Royal Heating Company, General Heating & Modernization Company, Harper Community House
This structure includes 5328 and 5330 Chene Street.
By 1897, there was a dwelling where this structure stands today. I’m not certain when, but it was replaced with another, larger dwelling by the end of the 1910s.
In 1907, John Rings was cycling down the sidewalk on Frederick between Chene and Dubois. The problem was, according to the newspaper, the sidewalk wasn’t designed for bikes, and his bicycle became entangled with the sidewalk, throwing him off. He was rendered unconscious with a dislocated jaw and a gash on his chin. Passersby, who saw it happen, took him to a doctor at 1102 Chene Street, the original address for the parcel pictured here. In 1907, it was listed as Dr. George C. Gifford.
In May 1908, John Barnowski and Gus Buziawski were beaten and robbed at Chene and Palmer Streets by a gang. Barnowski was stabbed in the hip, causing a deep flesh round, and he was robbed of five cents. Buziawski was stabbed in the neck and around his head and arms and was robbed of $2.50. After escaping the gang, they went to the doctor at the dwelling that once occupied this parcel. This time, it was listed as G. C. Griffis.
A month later, Mrs. Margaret Herrington was so sick that the doctor was called from his dwelling to see her. She had scratched her shoulder with her fingernails, and it had turned into a cut and got infected. The widow died at 52. This time, the doctor’s name was S. C. Griffis. Likely, all three stories are about the same person.
At some point, the structure pictured here was added onto the front of the dwelling. In 1916, the Detroiter Abend-Post ran an ad for Edward Nairin’s new store, which sold clothing. By 1918. the store was available for rent. The ad in the paper said it was a good location and cheap.
The 1921 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the two-story storefront that’s there today with a dwelling attached on the backside.
By 1937, the storefront was in use by the Royal Heating Company. They specialized in furnaces, boilers, and Arcola systems and offered free estimates. The company was successful enough to stay open for a few decades, many of which appear to have been under the stewardship of Theodore Palmer, who was interviewed by the Detroit Free Press in 1947 to speak about how to most economically and adequately heat your home. The article said that he was a veteran of 25 years in the business, dating his company back to 1922. According to the piece, “If you aren’t getting full heat values from the fuel you burn these days, don’t holler at the furnace. It’s seldom to blame.”
In 1950, the two-story storefront and dwelling appeared mostly the same as in the 1921 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map; however, the dwelling was now listed as a warehouse, likely for the Royal Heating Company. By 1952, the company was listed as a TORIDHEET dealer, a brand of boilers and furnaces based in Cleveland.
By 1954, the company was still selling heating equipment from their Chene Street location in Poletown East, pictured here, and had opened an auxiliary one at 7011 West Warren Avenue, now a parking lot at Warren and Wetherby.
In 1960, there was an ad at this address for the General Heating & Modernization Company; however, there was only one, so I’m not sure if it was a misprint.
I believe that by the early 1960s, this structure was occupied by the Harper Community House, a service organization founded by the Polish Aid Society. It previously had headquarters at 6000 Dubois Street, near where I94 intersects with the street today.
In December 1965, the Harper Community House was one of ten neighborhood immunization stations across the city to get shots to prevent whooping cough. In February 1966, you could get immunized against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, and smallpox here. In May 1966, another immunization program was planned, this time for diphtheria, whooping cough, lockjaw, polio, and smallpox.
In September 1968, Clarence (Duke) Harris became the new supervisor of the Catholic Youth Organization’s Harper Community House. This is the first time I’ve found it mentioned in relation to the church. Harris previously headed SWEEP, a program from the Archdiocese for teenage Detroiters. Known around the city as Duke, Harris was the welterweight champion of Michigan in 1958 and was best known for his defeat of Pat Lowry in 1954. According to the Detroit Tribune, “For young Duke Harris, this is a high point in his exciting career. He has risen from preliminary ranks to a place on top at Olympia in less than two years, an unusual achievement.”
According to a December 1968 Detroit Free Press article, Harper Community House offered social services and activities for senior citizens.
After that mention, this structure wasn’t on record for decades. In 1991, an ad in the paper listed it as having rooms for rent. It was described as clean and protected, and the owners welcomed social security and SSI (Supplemental Security Income). After that, I haven’t found any mention of this structure.
I met the owner of this structure while documenting the Round Bar last year. He said that he was fixing the structure, and I’ve seen evidence of that since then. Hopefully, it can continue to anchor Chene Street for another century.
